The crooked knife, also called a curved knife, carving knife, or mocotaugan (from the Cree term mohkotakan), is a common Eastern Woodlands Native American woodworking knife. Its blade is set at an oblique angle to the handle and can be straight or curved, long or short. Many blades were fashioned from reworked file blades or other reused hardened steel; the Hudson Bay Company later imported pre-made steel blades from Sheffield, England, without handles, for trade with Native Americans. The shape of the blade follows the carving task: a straight blade suits whittling wood and making the splints used in basketry, while a curved blade is used for hollowing out bowls, masks and ladles.
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Introduced When (Circa)Not established by the cited source.
Crooked Knife (Wikipedia) states, per woodworker Henri Vaillancourt, that the original crooked knife was made from a beaver tooth, supported by archaeological digs, but names no specific date or era for the tools introduction; checked fresh 2026-09-17 against the raw article extract. OriginAccording to woodworker and canoe builder Henri Vaillancourt, the original crooked knife was made from a sharpened beaver's tooth, a claim archaeological finds support; only later did the Hudson Bay Company import ready-made steel blades from Sheffield, England for trade with Native Americans. 1 Sources
1. Crooked Knife (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationDescription and Usage section, Vaillancourt quotationQuote, Description and Usage section, Vaillancourt quotation
The original crooked knife was made out of a beaver's tooth.
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